Machine for making filament supporting structures



NOV. l, 1938. V KQENIG 2,135,288

MACHINE FOR MAKING FILAMENT SUPPORTIIIGSTEUCTURES Filed April 11, 1936 2 Sheets-sheaf. 1

Inventor: A l exancler Koenig,

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Nov. 1, 1938. A. KOENIG 2,135,288

MACHINE FOR MAKING FILAMENT SUPPORTING STRUCTURES Filed April 11, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I nventorr- A lexanqer Koefiig.

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Patented Nov. 1, 1938 PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR MAKING FILAMENT SUP- PORTING STRUCTURES Alexander Koenig, Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany, assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application April 11, 1936, Serial No. 73,869

In Germany June 17, 1935 9 Claims.

My invention relates to machines for making the filament supporting structure of tubular lamps and the like. My invention relates particularly to the making of a filament supporting structure comprising a stay wire or rod which is to lie longitudinally in the lamp bulb, a lateral support or stay attached thereto for holding and bracing the longitudinal stay in position in the bulb and support wires which are attached to the longitudinal stay at intervals by insulating bead for supporting the filament.

According to my invention, the machine comprises means for advancing and positioning the stay which is preferably unwound from a spool and mechanisms located at spaced intervals along the path of travel of said stay for making and attaching lateral stays, insulating beads and support wires thereto. Features of my machine are the automatic mechanism for making the lateral support or stay, the mechanism for welding it to the longitudinal stay and the mechanism for making and attaching the insulating beads to said longitudinal stay.

Other features and advantages of my invention will appear from the following detailed description of a species thereof and from the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevation of the machineof my invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the lateral stay making and attaching mechanism; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the stay beading mechanism;

Fig. lis a plan view of a portion thereof; and r Figs. 5 and 6 areside and perspective views of the support wire inserting mechanism.

As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the stay In of the filament supporting structure is formed from the wire it contained on spool H. 'The spool H is mounted on the right side of the maa chine and the wire I0 is withdrawn and carried in a substantially horizontal position to the left through the separate mechanisms of the machine. Upon leaving the spool H the wire l0 passes into the lateral stay making and attaching mechanism A, between the jaws of the wiresupporting and-advancing apparatus B and in operative relation to the heading and support wire inserting mechanisms 0 and D respectively in turn. The wire it is advanced intermittently insuch a manner that the same portions thereof coming into position before the lateral stay attaching mechanism A also come into position before each 0. l the other mechanisms in turn.

The lateral support or stay 13 as shown in Figs.

are pivoted in bracket l9 and which are turned at the same rate by mechanism (not shown). Because of the larger diameter of roller IS, the peripheral speeds of the rollers I5 and I6 difier and the. stay wire I3 curls upward and passes through the aperture 20 in plate 2| and between the anvil portion 220i bracket l9 and the die 23. A groove is provided in the die 23 for the stay wire l3 so that it is properly directed. In this position the end of the stay wire I3 is firmly held between the anvil 22 and die 23 and lies with a mid-portion over the electrode 24 and the stay wire I0 which is located in a groove therein. The end of the stay wire I3 is now severed from the rest by movement of the knife '25 across the face'of plate 2| and overthe aperture 20. The plate 2| is mounted on a stationary part of the machine 26 and the knife which slides thereon is fastenedto the block 21. The 'block 21 is actuated by lever 28 which has the upper end thereof located in an aperture therein and which is operated through. engagement of the bolt 29 in the lower end with the cam 30. The lever 28 is pivoted on the pin 3| and is normally held back against the stop 32 by the spring 33 which extends between it and a stationary part of the machine. The cam is mounted on shaft 34 which in this particular instance turns once between every other indexing movement which results in a lateral stay I3 being attached to the stay ill at intervals equal to two ofthe indexing movements. The lateral stay l3 formed by the end of the wire severed from wire I3 is now Welded to the stay ID by downward movement of electrode 35 into contact with said lateral stay l3 at a point above where said stays ill and I3 contact each other. The electrodes 24 and'35 are connected through wires 36 and 3'! in an electrical welding circuit. The electrode 35 and the die 23- are lifted and the stay I0 is indexed longitudinally. The die 23 is turned about pin 38 by mechanism (not shown) so that the lateral stay I3 is removed from the groove therein.

The free end of the stay l0 extending beyond the lateral stay making and attaching mechanism A is located in arm 39 of the stay indexing imechanism B. The arm 39 is provided with jaws which grip the stay I!) during the indexing movement in' which the arm 33 and the slide the wire 88 held by the jaws 88 and 88 from the 48 on which it is mounted are moved to the left. The slide 48 is mounted in ways 4! in a stationary part of the machine and is operated in one direction by mechanism (not shown) engaging studs 42 therein and in the other direction by the weight 43. The weight 43 is connected through the cord 44 which passes over pulley 45 to the slide 40. The slide 48 indexes the stay ill to the left and then returns before again repeating the indexing movement.

Further along the path of travel of thestay i0 and at a point at which the joined stays l8 and I: come to rest between indexing movements is located the beading mechanism C shown in Figs. 1 and -3. The mechanism C supports an insulating rod 48 of glass in this instance which is carried into contact with the stay I at the joint between stays i8 and ii. The major portion of the glass rod 48 lies in the passage 41 in the holder 48 and is gripped by the bolt 49 which is located in a passage therein. As shown in Fig. 4, the rod 48 passes through an aperture 50 in the bolt 49 and is gripped between the end -of said aperture 58 and the holder 48 (Fig. 3) by movement of said bolt 49 resulting from expansion of the spring ii. The rod 48 is carried into contact with the stay ill by rotation of the holder 48 about pin 82 as the high part of cam 53 is rotated from engagement with the holder 48. The weight of the holder 48 and apparatus attached thereto causes it to swing against the cam 53. The flames from the burners 54 and 55 strike the end of the rod 48 and fuse it to the stays l8 and I8 whereupon the rod 48 and holder 48 are moved upward and then to one side to cause the rod 48. to string out and be melted off just above the stay l8. As shown, the glass melted from the rod 48 forms a bead 58 located around the joint between-stays II and i8 and has a larger quantity of glass below the joint so that the end of a support wire can be inserted therein without touching either of the stays I! or [3. The rod 48 and holder 48 are moved upward by the arm 51 which is attached to said.

holder 48 by pin 52 and which is turned about pin 58 by the cam 58 which it engages. The holder 48 is moved sideward by cam 58 which is like cam 58 fastened to shaft 88 which in turn is driven by means (not shown). The pin 58 is mounted in a stationary part 8| of the machine. The outward swing of the holder 48 carries the end of bolt 48 against the stop 88 which pushes said bolt inward releasing the glass rod 48. and allowing it to fall by its own weight against the rest 84. The stay i8 is now indexed once whereupon the holder 48 is moved to the left and down to again bring the rod 48 in contact with the stay i0. With this cycle of movement the beads 88 are placed on the stay ill twice as often as the lateral stays i3, 1. e., at each joint between the stays l8 and i3 and at a point mid-way between.

The next indexing of the stay I, as shown in Figs. 1 and. 5, brings the beaded portion of said stay l8 into operative relation to the support wire inserting mechanism D. Mechanisms for this purpose are well known in the art and may for instance, as shown in Fig. 6,comprise the supply spool with the wire 88 extending therefrom threaded up through an aperture in block 81 and between the jaws 88 and 88. The knife 18 in cooperation with the block 81 severs the end of rest and the peg 'li engages the lower end of the support 12 thus formed and winds it into an open loop 13. The jaws 88 and 88 are than moved upward plunging the upper end of the support 12 into the bead 58 and after releasing said support 12, drop down and grip the end of the wire 88. Additional heat may be used to soften the bead 58 if desired. The jaw 88 is fastened to the arm 14 extending from the slide lever 19 (only partially shown) opens the jaws by striking the lower end of jaw 89. I8 is supported adjacent the inserting mechanism by the rest 88 which is moved up into peel-- tion after each index of the stay "I. The rest 88 is slidably mounted in a stationary portion II of the machine and when in position has the collar 82 against said portion and the stay ll resting in a groove therein.

The stay in being of indefinite length permits the machine to be operated indefinitely without a stop and the filament supporting structures to be out from the resultant structure to the desired length.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

i. In a device of the class described, the combination of an apparatus for supporting a stay; mechanism located adjacent thereto for making and attaching a second stay to the first stay comprising a pair of rollers turned at different peripheral speeds for curling and feeding an end portion of a wire longitudinally, a knife for severing the curled end portion of said wire from the remainder to form the second stay, a pair comprising a pair of rollers turned at different.

peripheral speeds for curling and feeding an end portion of a wire longitudinally, a knife for severing the curled end portion of said wire from the remainder to form the second stay, a pair of electrodes connected to a welding circuit for welding the second stay to the first stay; mechanism located at another position along the path of movement of the first stay for attach: ing an insulating bead thereto; and mechanism further along said path of movement for inserting a support in said bead.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of apparatus for supporting a stay and mechanisms located adjacent thereto for feedingandfor attachingasecondstaytothefirst stay, for feeding a portion of a rod of insulating material into engagement with the stay, for

heating said portion of said rod to fuse it therebination of apparatus for supporting and moving a stay intermittently in the direction of its The stay longitudinal axis; mechanism located adjacent the path of movement of said stay for making and attaching a second stay to the first comprising a pair of rollers turned at different peripheral speeds for curling and feeding an end portion of a wire longitudinally; a knife for severing said curled end portion of said wire from the remainder to form the second stay, a pair of electrodes connected to a welding circuit for welding the second stay to the 'firstfmechanism located at another position along the path of movement of the first stay for feeding a por tion of a rod of insulating material into engagement with the first stay, for heating said. portion of said rod to fuse it thereto, for moving the unheated portion of said rod away from the fused portion to separate said portions; and

mechanism further along the path of movement of the stay for inserting a support into said fused portion of the rod on said stay.

5. In a device of the class described, means for intermittently feeding a stay wire longitudinally, means for feeding a support wire transversely across said stay wire, means for securing said support wire to said stay wire, means for fusing a bead of vitreous material to said stay wire and means for feeding a filament support wire toward said bead to embed an end thereof in said bead.

6. In a device of the class described, means for intermittently feeding a stay wire longitudinally, a spool for wire, means for feeding wire from said spool transversely of said stay wire and for bending the end of said wire across said stay wire, means for severing said end of said wire, means for securing said end of said wire to said stay wire to form a transverse support, means for fusing a bead of vitreous material to said stay wire and means for feeding a filament support wire toward said head to em-- bed an end thereof in said bead.

7. In a device of the class described, an electrode, means for feeding a stays wire longitudinally across the face of said electrode, a guide member adjacent to said electrode having a curved groove extending laterally of the path of travel of said stay wire on each side of said electrode a spool for wire, means for feeding wire from said spool into said groove in said guide member to bend the end thereof across the face of said electrode by a pushing operation, means for severing said end of said wire, a second electrode disposed adjacent said firstmentioned electrode, and means second-mentioned electrode toward said firstmentioned electrode to weld said end of said wire to said stay wire to form a transverse support. a

8. In a device of the class described, an electrode, means for feeding a stay wire longitudinally across the face of said electrode, a guide member adjacent to said electrode having a curved groove extending laterally of the path of travel of said stay wire on each side of said electrode, a spool for wire, a pair of rollers disposed adjaeent to said guide member and adapted to be rotated to feed the wire from said spool therebetween, one of said rollers being larger in diameter than the other so as to curl the end of said wire and guide it into said groove in said guide member to bend the end thereof across the face of said electrode, means for severing said end of said wire, a second electrode disposed adjacent said first-mentioned electrode, and means for moving said second-mentioned electrode toward said first-mentioned electrode to weld said end of said wire to said stay wire to form ,a transverse support.

9. In a device of the class described, means for feeding a stay wire longitudinally, a holder for supporting a glass rod vertically above said stay wire with its lower 'end adjacent to said stay wire, means for clamping said glass rod in said holder, heating means for fusing said lower a bead on said adjacent to ALEXAN ER KOENIG.

for moving said 

